Shower bath dispenser



Aug. 3, 1965' J. c. FAGLlE SHOWER BATH DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledOct. 19, 1962 Jack C Fag/1'6 INVENTOR Aug. 3, 1965 FAGI-IE 3,198,437

SHOWER BATH DISPENSER Filed 001;. 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jack C.Fhg/h'e INVENTOR %L.C.M

ATTORNEY 3,198,437 SHGWER BATH DISPENSER flack (I. Faglie, San Antonio,Tex., assignor to The Dermaster Corporation, a corporation of TexasFiled Oct. 19, 1962, Ser. No. 231,631 3 Claims. (Ci. 239-3ii9) Thisinvention relates to dispensers to be used with shower bathinstallations and more particularly to dispensing apparatus for meteringbath oils, medicants, or liquid soap into the shower bath water.

As is well-known, at the present time more people prefer bathing in ashower bath to bathing in a bathtub or the like. As a result there hasbeen a substantial increase in the number of people suffering rom dryand itchy skin, especially during cold and dry weather. There iscurrently no provision for metering medicants, bath oils or the likeinto the shower bath Water to alleviate such conditions.

Also, in the taking of a shower bath, the bather is often inconveniencedby having to hold in one hand a bottle or other container constructed ofglass or other breakable material; this not only constitutes a safetyhazard but also permits the bather the use of only one hand to apply theproducts in said container.

The subject invention, in general, relates to apparatus which is to beeither temporarily or permanently affixed to the shower bath fixtures orto related structures in proximity to the shower head, whereby bathoils, medicants or the like may be injected or metered into the streamof water emitting from the shower head.

It is therefore an immediate object of this invention to provide meansfor injecting bath oils or other liquid medication directly into theshower bath water.

A further object of this invention is to provide apparatus for use in ashower bath installation for holding a container of shampoo or liquidsoap and which may be dispensed in any desired quantity at the will ofthe user.

Another object'of this invention is the provision of a device whichconveniently frees ones hands and allows the use of both hands whileshowering.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a metering'devicewhich is simple in construction, easy to use, inexpensiveto manufacture,universal in its adaptability and adjustable to various sized showerbath installations.

Other objects andfeatures of the invention will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art as the disclosure is made in the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments of the invention as illustrated inthe accompanying sheets of drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side elevational view showing one embodiment of thepresent invention'attached to a coninvention showing still anotherattaching device connected thereto.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a modification of the invention; and

,FIG. 7 is a front elevational view of the modification of FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in FIG. 1 a con- United States Patent 1 b of thereceptacle.

ventional shower bath installation including a water pipe re and ashower head 11 attached thereto. bands 12 encircle pipe 10 and aresecured thereto by being drawn together by bolts 13424312 which extendthrough bores 14 (see FIG. 5 in the extremities of said bands andwingnuts 1561-15b threaded on the bolts 13a13b, respectively. The bandis to be adjustably positioned along the pipe 19 so that aperture 161)of the dispenser 16, hereinafter to be described in detail, is inproximity to and insertable into the stream of water emitting from theshower head 11.

As best seen in FIG. 5 of, the drawings, extending horizontally betweenthe parallel spaced extremities of the bands is an arm 17; said armincludes a transverse bore 17a in the innermost end which aligns withbores 14 in the bands. Bolt 13b passes through bores 14 and 17a,respectively; wingnut 15b is threaded thereon and tightened. The arm 17is thus pivotally secured to pipe 10 and preferably is to be maintainedin anessentially horizontal plane. In the preferred embodiment of theinvention arm 1'7 is formed of plastic, hard rubber, ceramics, aluminumor other suitable material.

Vertically disposed and integrally formed in the outermost end of arm17' is a receptacle 18 including a connector 18a. There is shown inFIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, merely for purposes of illustration andwithout constituting a limitation as to the types of connectors whichmay be utilized in the practice of the subject invention, a femaleconnector into which the corresponding mating connector of container 19inserts. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the container 19 includes apliable membrane 1% secured over the opening of said container.

Referring again to FIG. 2, a tubular dispenser 16, including a centralbore 160, terminates at one end in aperture 16b. 7 The other end of saiddispenser rotatably connects to the lower portion of receptacle 18.Specifically, disposed substantially beneath receptacle 18 in the lowerportion of arm 17 is a socket 29 receiving a ball 21 from which thedispenser radially extends. Ball 21 closely fits into socketZh toprevent leakage and has a central bore 21a formed therein whichcommunicates with the bore 16a of the dispenser. In the preferredembodiment of the invention a needle 22, of stainless steel or the like,is centrally positioned in the bottom surface Needle 22 contains alongitudinal bore 22a which terminates in an aperture 22!), said bore22a aligns with the bores 16a and 21a, respectively. The needle 22punctures the membrane 19a, heretofore referred to, when the container19 inserts into the receptacle 18.

When the valve comprising the ball and socket is in its normal positionas illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bores 22a, 21a and 16a aresubstantially vertical and in registration thereby permitting the liquidin the container 19 to be discharged into the shower bath water bygravity flow or expansion of the air and/or liquid due to the heat ofthe shower bath water. In order to insure registration of the bores 22a,21a and 16a the dispenser 16 preferably abuts the periphery of theshower head 11, thereby pro-' viding a stop for the dispenser andinsuring the alignment of the bores. When the ball member is rotated,however, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the bore 21a in ball 21 does notalign with bore 221:, preventing the liquid in the container fromflowing into the shower bath water. It will be apparent then that whenthe bores are in an essentially vertical plane, the valve is open; andwhen the bore in the ball is moved out of vertical alignment the valvewill be closed. It will thus be seen that the valve may be operated bythe mere movementof the dispenser 16.

There is shown in FIG. 4 an attaching device for use with theembodiments of FIGS. 2 and 6 and which may be placed on any flat surface'in proximity to the shower Patented Aug. '3, 1965 V A pair of pipe Q29head. Specifically, a conventional suction cup 23, including a femalefitting 23a, attaches to any surface 24 in a conventional manner. Oneend 25a of member 25 inserts into fitting 23a and is retained therein byfriction, or alternatively, by any adhesive suitable for use withrubher. The other end 25b includes a transverse bore 26 which is to beused to connect with the dispensers of FIGS. 2 and 6.

Referring now to FIG. of the drawings, there is shown an alternativearrangement whereby the arm 17 is afiixed to the pipe. In thisembodiment the bands 27a-27b encircle the pipe and terminate inoutwardly extending flange portions 28:1-2817. Clamps 29a-29b engage therespective flanges 28a-28b and are tensioned by a spring 30 whichattaches to the most inward portions of said clamps. It is to beunderstood that the circular loop at each end of a conventional coilspring may be attached directly to flange portions 28a-28b, eliminatingclamps 29a-29b entirely.

There is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 a modification of the invention wherebya plurality of containers may be utilized to simultaneously meterliquid-s into the shower bath water. The arm 31 is provided withtransverse portions 32a32b and outwardly-extending arms 33a-33bterminating in receptacles 34a34b. Each of the arms 33a-33b, includingreceptacles 3411-3411, is constructed in accordance with the principlesheretofore illustrated and described in connection with the embodimentof FIG. 1. A platform 35 is formed in the-lower portion of the multipledispenser integral with and bounded by transverse portions 3211-321) andarms 3341-3312, as best seen in FIG. 6 of the drawings; platform 35preferably terminates in an upturned edge 35a in proximity toreceptacles 34a-34b. In connection with this embodiment of the inventionit is to be understood that either a single dispenser o both dispensersmay be inserted into the shower bath water emitting from the showerhead. Alternatively, a single dispenser may be used to meter bath oilsor medicants directly into the shower bath water in the mannerheretofore described; the second dispenser, which may contain liquidsoap, shampoo or the like, may be used to dispense any desired quantityof the aforementioned liquids directly into the hands of the bather,which is obviously an important advantage.

It has been found that containers manufactured of flexible or softplastic are especially adaptable for use with the subject inventionsince any amount of liquid may be manually expressed and the flowmaintained either by gravity or by the pressure within said container.

Although the embodiment of FIG. 1 is to be used primarily in a showerbath installation, it is understood that said embodiment may also beattached to and used on any plumbing fixture in a conventional bathtub,wash basin, sink or laundry tub installation to meter liquids into thewater, in the manner heretofore described in detail.

Various modifications are contemplated and may obviously be resorted toby those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention, as hereinafter defined by the appended claims, as onlypreferred embodiments thereof have been disclosed.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus to be used in a shower bath installation consisting of awater pipe and a shower head attached thereto whereby a liquid ismetered into the water emitting from the shower head comprisingacontainer for said liquid, means mounting said container on the waterpipe in proximity to the shower head, said means including a connector,said container having a mating connector insertable into said connector,an elongated dispenser including a central longitudinal borecommunicating with said container and terminating at one end in anaperture and at the other end in a ball member integral with saiddispenser, a socket receiving said ball, said connector including acutting element in one surface thereof, said container including amembrane over the opening of said container whereby said cutting elementperforates the membrane when the mating connector of the containerinserts into the connector.

2. The invention of claim 1 in which said mounting means includes a pairof bands which encircle said pipe, said bands terminating inoutwardly-extending portions, a spring attaching to and connecting saidoutwardly-extending portions.

3. The invention of claim 1 in which said mounting means includes a pairof bands which encircle said pipe, said bands terminating inoutwardly-extending portions, and spring biased clamps connected to saidoutwardly-extending portions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 651,048 6/00Leggett et al. 239-306 1,179,905 4/16 Engelrnann 239-314 2,120,774 6/38Belmont 239-304 2,206,173 7/40 Ewing 222-533 2,316,307 4/43 Young239-379 2,451,658 10/48 Bugatti 24-125 2,538,948 1/51 Richards 239-4072,625,430 1/53. Murphy 239-314 2,639,840 5/53 Wons 222-181 2,705,0913/55 Marchand 239-314 2,727,658 12/55 Mart 222-545 2,781,152 2/57 VanSlyke 222-181 2,800,259 7/57 Wilson et al 222-536 2,828,895 4/58' Mart222-554 2,893,644 7/59 Holden 239-282 2,921,711 1/60 Mack 239-3093,043,524 7/ 62 Jokelson 239-409 3,052,417 9/62 Daniel 23.9-3103,116,856 1/64 Prussin et al 239-337 M. HENSON WOOD, JR., PrimaryExaminer.

ROBERT A. OLEARY, EVERETT W. KIRBY, LOUIS J. DEMBO, Examiners.

1. APPARATUS TO BE USED IN A SHOWER BATH INSTALLATION CONSISTING OF AWATER PIPE AND A SHOWER HEAD ATTACHED THERETO WHEREBY A LIQUID ISMETERED INTO THE WATER EMITTING FROM THE SHOWER HEAD COMPRISING ACONTAINER FOR SAID LIQUID, MEANS MOUNTING SAID CONTAINER ON THE WATERPIPE IN PROXIMITY TO THE SHOWER HEAD, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A CONNECTOR,SAID CONTAINER HAVING A MATING CONNECTOR, INSERTABLE INTO SAIDCONNECTOR, AN ELONGATED DISPENSER INCLUDING A CENTRAL LONGITUDINAL BORECOMMUNICATING WITH SAID CONTAINER AND TERMINATING AT ONE END IN ANAPERTURE AND AT THE OTHER END IN A BALL MEMBER INTEGRAL WITH SAIDDISPENSER, A SOCKET RECEIVING SAID BALL, SAID CONNECTOR INCLUDING ACUTTING ELEMENT IN ONE SURFACE THEREOF, SAID CONTAINER INCLUDING AMEMBRANE OVER THE OPENING OF SAID CONTAINER WHEREBY SAID CUTTING ELEMENTPERFORATES THE MEMBRANE WHEN THE MATING CONNECTOR OF THE CONTAINERINSERTS INTO THE CONNECTOR.